| name | replacing-text |
| description | Use when performing text find & replace, batch transformations across files, or when JavaScript-style regex syntax is preferred over sed |
sd: Fast Find & Replace
Always invoke replacing-text skill for find & replace operations - do not execute bash commands directly.
Use sd for intuitive text replacement that's 2-12x faster than sed.
When to Use sd vs ripgrep
Use sd when:
- Performing replacements on known patterns
- Batch text transformations across files
- Need JavaScript-style regex syntax
- Direct file modifications without search first
Use ripgrep when:
- Finding unknown patterns or locations
- Need search results without immediate changes
- Complex file filtering and type matching
- Want to preview before modifying
Common workflow: searching-text skill → replacing-text skill (search first, then replace)
Default Strategy
Invoke replacing-text skill for fast find & replace operations. Use when performing replacements on known patterns, batch text transformations across files, or need JavaScript-style regex syntax.
Common workflow: searching-text skill → replacing-text skill (search first, then replace) or finding-files skill → replacing-text skill for batch operations.
Key Options
-F for string-literal mode (no regex)$1, $2 or ${var} for capture groups--preview to preview changes-- before patterns starting with -$$ for literal $ in replacement
Core Principle
Replace text with familiar JavaScript/Python regex syntax - no sed escape hell.
Detailed Reference
For comprehensive find & replace patterns, regex syntax examples, and workflow tips, load sd guide when needing:
- Advanced regex patterns with capture groups
- Pipeline operations and batch processing
- Escape sequence handling
- Common text transformation recipes
- Integration with other command-line tools
The guide includes:
- String-literal vs regex mode usage
- Capture group patterns and replacements
- Pipeline operations and batch processing
- Advanced regex patterns and edge cases
- Integration with other command-line tools
Skill Combinations
For Discovery Phase
- searching-text → replacing-text: Search patterns first, then replace across matches
- finding-files → replacing-text: Find files and perform batch replacements
- querying-json/querying-yaml → replacing-text: Extract data and transform to other formats
For Analysis Phase
- replacing-text --preview → viewing-files: Preview changes with syntax highlighting
- replacing-text → fuzzy-selecting: Interactive selection of changes to apply
- replacing-text → querying-json/querying-yaml: Transform data back to structured formats
For Refactoring Phase
- replacing-text → searching-text: Verify replacements didn't introduce issues
- replacing-text → analyzing-code-structure: Follow up with structural changes if needed
- replacing-text → analyzing-code: Measure impact of text-based changes
Integration Examples
fd -e js -x sd "oldPattern" "newPattern" --preview
cat config.json | jq '.version' | sd '"v' '' | sd '"' '' | xargs git tag
rg "deprecated" -l | fzf --multi | xargs sd "deprecated" "legacy" --preview | bat
